The present invention relates to a disk driving apparatus which employs a slot-in method and is adapted to selectively drive one of disks set in a plurality of trays.
Examples of conventional disks on which information can be recorded include a compact disk (hereinafter referred to as CD), and examples of disk driving apparatus for playing CDs include a CD changer adapted to play a CD or CDs selected from among a plurality of CDs.
An example of CD changers of this type is shown in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2620146, which concerns a CD changer having a main body that houses a plurality of trays arranged one above another and a driving arm adapted to rotate around a vertically extending arm shaft so as to approach or move away from the trays, said arm shaft disposed at a side of the trays. The driving arm is provided with a turn table for chucking the CD, a driving unit for rotating the turn table and a head unit for performing playback of a CD.
The CD changer described above selects a tray or a CD and performs playback by moving the trays to form a driving space under the selected tray, while raising or lowering the driving arm to such a height that the arm can enter the driving space, and then inserting the driving arm into the driving space to play the CD within the space defined by the selected tray.
As for the manner of setting or removing CDs into or from the CD drive apparatus, various methods are employed conventionally, including a method which calls for moving a tray back and forth from the front of the main body of the CD drive apparatus, and what is generally called a slot-in method, which calls for inserting or removing a CD into or from a disk insertion/removal opening formed at the front of the main body of the CD drive apparatus. Compared with the method that calls for moving the tray back and forth, the slot-in method has benefits in that it is capable of simplifying the structure of the tray itself as well as the mechanism to move the tray back and forth.
However, in cases where the slot-in method is employed for a CD changer, a plurality of disk insertion/removal openings in a number corresponding to the number of trays have to be arranged on the front side of the body of the changer. Furthermore, in case of an in-vehicle CD changer (a CD changer to be mounted in a vehicle) or the like, the entire front side has to be open instead of providing a disk insertion/removal opening for each tray, because the dimension along which the trays are stacked is limited. For this reason, a front door has to be provided to open or close the front of the body of the changer. In case of an in-vehicle CD changer, however, it is not always possible to provide a sufficient space to open the front door.
Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a disk driving apparatus which has functions as a disk changer, has reduced dimensions and is easier to conduct insertion and removal of disks while employing a slot-in method that calls for inserting or removing a disk through a disk insertion/removal opening.
A disk driving apparatus according to the invention includes a plurality of vertically arranged trays, each of which permits a disk to be set thereon and removed therefrom and is capable of moving up and down; a disk insertion/removal opening shared by said plurality of trays and adapted to permit a disk to be inserted or removed therethrough; a carrier mechanism for moving a desired tray to a loading position corresponding to said disk insertion/removal opening; and a loading mechanism for carrying a disk back and forth between the disk insertion/removal opening and the tray located at said loading position. In other words, a disk driving apparatus according to the invention is a disk driving apparatus having the function of a disk changer and employing a slot-in method which calls for inserting or removing a disk into or from the apparatus through a disk insertion/removal opening, wherein the apparatus includes a disk insertion/removal opening shared by a plurality of trays so that a disk can be inserted into or removed from a desired tray through said common disk insertion/removal opening. As the common disk insertion/removal opening is shared by a plurality of trays, the dimensions of the apparatus can be reduce. As a disk can be inserted or removed at the same position, the apparatus is more convenient to operate.
In another embodiment, the invention includes a plurality of vertically arranged trays, each of which permits a disk to be set thereon and removed therefrom and is capable of moving up and down; a single-tray disk insertion/removal opening dedicated to one of said trays which is located at either one of the two vertical ends of the combination of the trays; a common disk insertion/removal opening to be shared by all the other trays than said tray that is located at either one of the two vertical ends of the combination of the trays; a carrier mechanism for moving a desired tray to a loading position corresponding to said common disk insertion/removal opening; a single-tray loading mechanism for carrying a disk back and forth between said single-tray disk insertion/removal opening and the tray corresponding to the single-tray loading mechanism; and a common loading mechanism for carrying a disk back and forth between the common disk insertion/removal opening and the tray located at said loading position. In other words, the disk driving apparatus has the function of a disk changer and employs a slot-in method which calls for inserting or removing a disk into or from the apparatus through a disk insertion/removal opening, wherein the apparatus includes a common disk insertion/removal opening shared by a plurality of trays so that a disk can be inserted into or removed from a desired tray through said common disk insertion/removal opening. As the common disk insertion/removal opening is shared by a plurality of trays, the dimensions of the apparatus can be reduce. As a disk can be inserted or removed at the same position, the apparatus is more convenient to operate. As the apparatus also has a single-tray disk insertion/removal opening dedicated to one of the trays, the apparatus is capable of handling a single disk easily. Thus, the invention offers a disk driving apparatus that is more convenient to operate by providing a common disk insertion/removal opening and a single-tray disk insertion/removal opening which are arranged along the height of the trays 11.
A disk driving apparatus according to another embodiment is a disk driving apparatus as described above, wherein the disk driving apparatus is also provided with a single loading motor; a loading transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force from the loading motor to the loading mechanisms, thereby permitting the loading mechanisms to perform conveying action; a single-tray ejecting means and a common ejecting means, each of which is adapted to deliver and receive a disk to and from the corresponding loading mechanism, said disk set on a tray corresponding to the ejecting arm in question; and a selective transmission mechanism adapted to selectively transmit the driving force from said loading motor to either the single-tray ejecting means or the common ejecting means, thereby permitting the ejecting means to perform ejecting action. Therefore, a disk driving apparatus according to this embodiment has such an effect that a single loading motor is capable of operating the loading mechanisms and, through the selective transmission mechanism, operating either one of the ejecting arms, i.e. the single-tray ejecting means or the common ejecting means.
A disk driving apparatus according to another embodiment is a disk driving apparatus as described immediately above, wherein the disk driving apparatus is provided with a single-tray shutter and a common shutter, each of which is adapted to close the corresponding disk insertion/removal opening and be opened when a disk is inserted or removed therethrough, and the selective transmission mechanism is adapted to selectively transmit the driving force from said loading motor to either the single-tray shutter or the common shutter, thereby closing or opening the shutter to which the force is transmitted. Therefore, a disk driving apparatus according to this embodiment has such an effect that a single loading motor is capable of operating the loading mechanisms and the ejecting means and also opening or closing either one of the shutters, i.e. the single-tray shutter or the common shutter, all of said operation being conducted through the selective transmission mechanism.
A disk driving apparatus according to again another embodiment is a disk driving apparatus as described in any one of the above described embodiments, wherein each loading mechanism is provided with rotatable rollers, holding members adapted to hold a disk in such a manner that the disk is sandwiched between the holding members and the rollers, and flexible supporting means for elastically supporting the holding members such that the distance between each roller and the corresponding holding member does not exceed the thickness of a disk. Therefore, the invention as described in this embodiment permits the thickness of each holding member to be set thinner than the minimum diameter of each roller and is thus capable of providing a disk driving apparatus which is thinner than a conventional apparatus that calls for supporting a disk by sandwiching it only between a pair of rollers compared with a configuration which calls for supporting a disk by sandwiching it only between a pair of roller members.
A disk driving apparatus according to another embodiment is a disk driving apparatus as described in the preceding paragraph, wherein the two rollers that comprise each pair of rollers are spaced apart, respectively to the two lateral sides of the apparatus, and arranged along an imaginary line extending perpendicular to the direction in which a disk is carried by the corresponding loading mechanism, and the holding members that comprise each pair of holding members, too, are spaced apart and arranged along an imaginary line extending perpendicular to the loading direction. Therefore, when a disk supported at the home position on a tray is brought close to the position where the outer edge of the disk is located between the laterally arranged rollers of the corresponding loading mechanism and also between the laterally arranged holding members of the corresponding loading mechanism, the disk may be detached from the rollers and the holding members and permitted to rotate. Thus, compared with a configuration which calls for installing rollers and holding members at the center in addition to the rollers and the holding members disposed at both sides and, therefore, disposing each roller and each holding member at a sufficient distance from the edge of the disk, a disk driving apparatus according to this embodiment is capable of reducing the dimension along which a disk is carried.
A disk driving apparatus according to still another embodiment is a disk driving apparatus as described in any one of the above described embodiments, wherein the disk driving apparatus further includes a holding means for applying constant force to a disk carried by a loading mechanism to a tray so that the disk is directed to the home position on the tray and held there. Therefore, according to the configuration of a disk driving apparatus of this embodiment, the holding means moves a disk to the home position on the target tray and held the disk there.
A disk driving apparatus according to another embodiment is a disk driving apparatus as described in any one of the above described embodiments, wherein the disk driving apparatus further includes a driving arm for driving a disk, and a selector mechanism adapted to select a tray targeted for driving a disk from among the plurality of trays and move the driving arm to a selection position corresponding to the selected tray; and wherein the carrier mechanism is adapted to move the trays, thereby forming a driving space which is located either immediately above or below the tray selected by the selector mechanism and into which the driving arm may be inserted. Thus, according to the configuration of a disk driving apparatus of this embodiment, the carrier mechanism moves a tray to the position intended for loading of a disk and the position intended for driving the disk.
A disk driving apparatus according to a still further embodiment includes a turn table having a seating portion for receiving a disk thereon, and a boss around which the center hole of the disk on the seating portion is fitted; a chucking device incorporated in the turn table and having chucking members and a biasing means, said chucking members adapted to advance out of the boss so as to chuck a disk and retreat from the boss to release the disk from the chucked state, and the biasing means adapted to apply constant force to the chucking members in such a direction as to advance the chucking members; and a releasing means for applying chuck-releasing force from the outside of the turn table to the chucking device so that the chucking action of the chucking device is stopped against the force applied by the biasing means. Thus, the invention as described herein simplifies the configuration of a disk driving apparatus by eliminating the need of a separate mechanism for holding a disk between the turn table and the holding mechanism.
The above, and other objects, feature and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description read in conjunction with accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals designate the same element.